The European Union is interested in supplying energy delivery to Europe through alternative sources. Martin Vookovich, the ambassador of Austria in Russia, announced this at a press conference in Moscow that was ordained by chairmanship of Austria in European Union.

According to what he said, European countries need new relationships with the producers and consumers of energy resources. "These relationships should be built on equality, on mutual partnership in the process of making decisions," said the Austrian diplomat.

Chief research assistant of the Washington Centre of Strategic and Universal Research, Kith Smith, thinks that the West has enough economical and political levers to make Russia become more reliable and clarify their practices in the area of export as an energy bearer. It shouldn't let Moscow threaten the energy supply of Europe, especially of the young Central European democracies, showing indifference and a lack of interest in controlling the once again obtained imperial hobbits.

Giving comments on prospects concerning the diversification of gas market, the head analyst of the Independent Centre of Oil Research of Azerbaijan, Riad Mammedly, said that the case involving the European energy supply is a part of political game." In terms of economy the "Old Lady," Europe, will not escape from Russia and it's gigantic gas pipelines, "Friendship" and the North European gas pipeline (in the process of being built right now), said the analyst.

The situation of Europe's gas market won't undergo any serious changes in the near future. Norway's position on the market can't strengthen. Even Norway's widely publicized "Snovhit" project has been postponed for the time being. With the advent of the "Stockmann" and 'Yamal" gas fields Russia will not only strengthen its position in European market, but will control a big part of LPG of the North America," said Mammedly.

In relation to the gas delivery project from the Caspian pool to European countries, we should consider one important moment. Let's say, if we manage to see fulfilled "Stage-2" project by 2013, then Azerbaijan can export its "blue fuel" mostly to Balkan countries, which use only a very small amount of gas. For example at the moment Greece uses no more than 3 billion cubic meters of gas a year, which is three times less than Azerbaijan's current consumption. And other Balkan countries even by the middle of the next century won't be able to import all together half of the amount of gas that the Azeri press is speaking about at the moment. The Italian market is limited for Azerbaijani gas as well, since this country is already supplemented with gas through two projects importing gas, one from Russia and one from Africa. And to other power-hungry countries of Europe the supply of Azeri gas won't be worthwhile from a commercial point of view because of the increase in the number of the transit countries. This means that in contrast to oil, on gas issue, Azerbaijan's main problem now is that there are no real buyers of its relatively "big gas."

"The problem of a limited market is clearly understood by BP, which is an operator in developing the "Shah-Deniz" field. It seems that for this reason in at an April of 2005 press-conference in Baku, the vice-president of BP-Azerbaijan's Issues of Gas Export, Rob Kelly, pointed this problem out to journalists," said Mammadly.

It should also be mentioned that at that same press-conference, dedicated to the summation of BP-Azerbaijan's work during the first quarter of 2005, Kelly announced that the results of marketing research showed that for the second stage of the "Shah-Deniz" development field the best market of gas sale was Azerbaijan, which imports 5 billion cubic meters a year. This remark has led to discussions with official in the country on specific gas needs of Azerbaijan in the coming 10 years. In this period there is a plan to realize the projects in the context of a governmental program of development of a fuel-energy complex.

This is why the activity of the state of Azerbaijan in reference to bringing in extra amounts of gas from Kazakhstan for export through its gas transporting system can't be analyzed at all. Here a question appears: Can Azerbaijan, using the disagreement in gas issue between Russia and Georgia, become a transit country supplying Kazakh gas to Georgia? But if this were to be realized there would be a need to build a 300 kilometer submarine gas pipe through the Caspian Sea. It's not very profitable commercially considering the needs of Georgia, whose gas consumption does not exceed 2 billion cubic meters a year. And from another perspective, why would Azerbaijan create extra opportunities for competition in the markets that it is fighting for itself? If Azerbaijan has a need for transit gas, why did they reject it with the realization of Trans Caspian gas in the end of the 90s. The country wouldn't need to spend over $1.5 billion for the import of Russian gas. Then Azerbaijan could save more than $1 billion by building the South-Caucasian pipe, for the official Ashgabat provided Azerbaijan with a year quota in the sum of 8 billion cubic meters(besides that Azerbaijan could receive an additional volume of gas not less that 1.5 to 2 billion cubic meters). Because Azerbaijan in the context of the "Stage-1" project only from 2007 will get an opportunity to export a bit more than a billion cubic meters of gas.

So, where is the logic and so loudly announced strategy of the government of Azerbaijan?